The Soul Of Authentic Vietnam
14 Days

Upon arrival at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, you will be greeted by your guide and transferred to your hotel.

Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, which celebrated its 1,000th anniversary in 2010. As you travel to your hotel, take a moment to look out the window and observe the landscape and architecture. A historical emphasis on the arts and learning has influenced Hanoi’s buildings to remain small, simple, and in harmony with nature.

Tonight, you have a welcome dinner to look forward to. Enjoy your first night in Hanoi!

Drive from hotel through the historical Ba Dinh Square where president Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independence of Vietnam in 1945 and find out outstanding architecture, beautiful atmosphere around this square. You’ll also wander around the Old Quarter, the Lake of the Resorted Sword, Ngoc Son Temple, the Temple of Literature and tranquil West Lake. The tour ends with Tran Quoc Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple.

Next, you visit the very impressive Museum of Ethnology, among the finest of Vietnam's museums. You will see many exhibits, photographs, and actual houses inhabited by some of the 54 ethnic people in Vietnam. It will offer a truly colorful introduction to these ethnic tribes.

Finally, you will enjoy a Water Puppet show. A uniquely northern Vietnamese art form said to have originated in the flooded rice fields of the Red River Delta. Drive back to hotel before you take the night train to Sapa.

Breakfast on train. The train arrives at Lao Cai train station at approximately 6:00 a.m. and there will be a vehicle waiting to transfer you to Sapa (around 90 mins drive).

Stop at Thanh Kim, a beautiful valley which is perfect combination of mountain, stream and terraced rice field.

Arrive Sapa, check in at your hotel and free time at leisure.

After breakfast, you will discover Love Waterfall, the impressive works of nature hidden in the deep forests of Sapa's province.

Afternoon driver & tour guide take you to Cable Car Station and spend 20 minutes with cable car to enjoy the spectacular scenery.

Reach the altitute of 2800 meters, you have a good time to see the view and take photos, visit pagoda the spiritual destinations and trek up to 600 steps you will reach the peak of Fansipan – the Roof of Indochina. (Spend about 1,5 hours for hiking and taking photos).

Come back to Cable Car Station and return to Sapa town,

Go back to Sapa town for refreshing, then have dinner by your own. Relax and discover Sapa town by yourself and overnight in hotel

Go downhill to Cat Cat village while enjoying beautiful landscape and scenery along the road. Reach to a waterfall and a hydroelectric station and take a short rest before continuing the trek on a dirt trail through rice paddy terraced fields. The area is still covered by rain forest under the protection of Hoang Lien National Park. Arrive at Y Linh Ho village of Black Hmong people then following the best Valley of Muong Hoa you can see a little Gem of paddy rice field. You also can see the daily life of Black Mong, handy-craft shop, embroidery, indigo process and join batik class in Lao Chai Village. The beautiful art of batik – using wax and dye to create patterns on cloth – has been around for centuries. Enjoy your own time to breath in the fresh air and take the photos before heading back to town

You will be transferred to Lao Cai for the overnight train back to Hanoi.

Arriving in Hanoi around 5.30am, you will check in a day-use hotel that is located nearby Hanoi railway station to freshen up and have breakfast. (day-use hotel include in tour price).

At 08:30 you will be picked you up at your day-use hotel for departing for Halong Bay, arriving at the jetty around noon. You will join your chosen ‘junk’ (traditional Chinese sailing boat) and after your welcome onboard, a lunch will be served while cruising towards the bay itself. In the afternoon, enjoy the spectacular scenery from various viewpoints, enjoy some swimming in a quiet cove or sunbathe on deck. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with the opportunity to interact with fishermen who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. Towards the end of the day the boat sets anchor for the night among the karst formations. Dinner is served on board after sunset cocktails.

Greet the day with morning Tai Chi and watch the sun rise over stunning Halong, breakfast is served on board (brunch on some boats) while the vessel cruises slowly through the magnificent rock formations and back towards port. Disembark around noon and transfer back to Hanoi. Head to the airport for the flight to Da Nang. Upon arrival, your tour guide will pick you up to your hotel in Hoi An.

8.30am: After a short a short drive through the local countryside we arrive at Tra Que Village, and the home of your host, Mr Tuan. A welcome drink of freshly picked fruits is waiting, before we take a walk around the village and learn about the history and customs of this charming village. We walk through the organic herb gardens where hundreds of local farmers work their fields using the traditional methods of hundreds of years ago - no electrical machinery here.

We return to the home of Mr Tuan, and this is where the real fun begins. Everyone is given farming instruments, and we set about joining the farmers in preparing the land for sewing or planting. Our farmer describes the traditional farming methods while we help fertilize the garden using seaweed from the local river, and then water it using huge tin cans strapped to our back. Time is then spent picking vegetables and herbs, and learning how to wrap them to prevent damage. Sharing with you about the traditional methods of gardening in organic way.

Many of the local herbs are used by the farmers for traditional village medicines. You will have a chance to enjoy the herbal foot massage with a real farmer concept.

Experience half day to be in the farmer house you will have the opportunity to interact with local farmers and learn about all the ingredients to be used in daily cooking life.

It's now time to try are hands at making the village speciality named “Tam Huu” spring rolls - using the local herbs and vegetables we have just picked or Xeo Cake ( Banh Xeo). We then sit down and enjoy a lovely local meal.

Menu – Family’s recipes and countryside recipes with 7 dishes.

1.30pm - Back to hotel by bicycle.

Morning takes a walking tour to visit Hoi An Ancient town. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, Hoi An known then as ‘Faifo’, was a prosperous trading port, attracting Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships amongst others. Today, this World Heritage ancient town is recognized for its well-preserved architecture, pedestrian-only streets, and distinctive local cuisine, allowing visitors a glimpse of its illustrious past. Hoi An’s narrow lanes are ideal for a guided walking tour of its many atmospheric sights including the old merchant houses with influences from Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese architecture; the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge, first built in the 1590s by the Japanese community to link them with the Chinese quarters across the stream; the Assembly Hall of the Chaozhou Chinese Congregation with its intricate woodcarvings; and the colourful market with stalls brimming with local specialties including silk, which can be turned into fashionable garments within a day or two. You are back in the heart of Hoi An old town

In the afternoon, you leave Hoi An to Hue, the world Heritage passing the Hai Van pass. Check in hotel and free time at leisure.

Rising up in the ancient land, breakfast in the hotel, we board a private boat for cruising on the romantic Perfume River. This time we head out for the countryside. Being the ancient capital, Hue is surrounded by ancient tombs of emperors past, and a visit to some of these tombs will be on the itinerary for today. The charming Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda) will be the first stop of the day. Setting in the convergence of rivers, and gives you a great view of the Perfume River and the surrounding area. From here you will take a drive to visit King Minh Mang's tomb & King Khai Dinh’s tomb.

This afternoon you embark on a tour of Hue City including the Citadel and the Forbidden Purple City, the Imperial Museum, and the Dong Ba market. Overnight in Hue.

After breakfast at your hotel, a driver will pick you up in time to drive you to Hue Airport to take the flight to Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), where you will transfer directly to hotel for check in. Free time at leisure.

In the morning, you will take half day Cu Chi Tunnel. At its height, the tunnel system stretched over 250 kilometers, from Saigon to the Cambodian border, and was three levels deep. The network included innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers and kitchens. Today the remaining tunnels have become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience and a feel of what underground life during the U.S.-Vietnam War must have been like

Following lunch, you will embark on a city tour of Saigon, including the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Post Office, the War Remnants Museum and bustling Ben Thanh Market. You will stay overnighting HCMC.

Your one-day cruise excursion starts at 8:00 am from the lobby of your hotel in Saigon with a drive to start with a quick visit of Cai Be floating market. Then, visit of the local workshop to see how to make rice paper, coconut, pop-rice... Enjoy some sweets with a cup of hot tea. Then, the rowing boat will take you deeper into the countryside on smaller canals to enjoy a peaceful time.

An optional lunch can be served at a local house or on a boat

After lunch, we’ll come to Tân Phong island for biking/walking on village paths to see the local daily life: orchard, school, church, pagoda, traditional houses... On the way, we can make some stops to see how they wave the dried water hyacinth to make many products: baskets, bags, hats, wallets, and shoes...

Come to visit the local garden, we will enjoy some cups of tea while listening to traditional music. The cruise will back to Cai Be pier for a drive back to Saigon. Overnight in Saigon

Breakfast at the hotel – Free and transfer to the airport for your home flight. We hope you have had a memorable trip and wish you pleasant onward travels!